Neal Latt is an independent builder and owner of Appropriate Development, a company specializing in affordable in-fill residential development in Humboldt County.

Latt started out as a mixed vegetable farmer in Orleans. He was selling 80 tons of produce a year, with about 10 acres in production. Latt left farming at the end of 2004 and started buying rentals and fixing them up.

He found a cheap lot in fall 2005 and put a Hoopa Modular on it in March 2008 to provide affordable housing. The house is currently listed at $240,000. Latt said there’s been a fair amount of interest. “It’s not your typical affordable house. It’s highly insulated with energy-efficient windows.”

The homes leave the factory 80 percent complete. They are set on the site with a 70-ton crane.

A modular is a home that is identical to a site-built home, but it’s built in a factory. Modular homes are commonly confused with manufactured homes, which are built to a housing code that permits a less durable structure.

Modular homes, because they are identical to a site-built home, appreciate in value, while manufactured homes depreciate. A modular home has a perimeter foundation and is set on the foundation by a crane. A manufactured home can be moved from its foundation; a modular home is there to stay.

Hoopa Modular was opened in 2005 by the Hoopa Valley Tribal Council to produce jobs for the residents of the reservation and affordable housing.

Six months ago, Hoopa Modular changed its name to Xontah Builders. Xontah is Hupa for “the big house.”

Dave Ferguson, COO of Xontah Builders, said, “The plant is currently approved from Wells Fargo to do Native American financing that’s backed by the U.S. government.” This means American Indians have the option to finance affordable homes on and off American Indian soil.

“(Xontah) has produced houses all over the place,” said Ferguson. It has homes in Fortuna, Orleans and Southern California and produces products for builders, developers and architects statewide.

Xontah can employ 60-plus employees at full capacity. Xontah just finished a seven-house subdivision on the reservation.

There are 15 work stations and different projects are done at each station to make the components of a house. They are then assembled and delivered to the field.

The houses fall within the International Residential Code, the same standards to which on-site houses are built. Modulars are appraised in the same way as on-site construction. The modulars are slightly less expensive because the factory can buy a larger volume of materials, said Latt.

“In a factory, your home is never exposed to the elements,” said Ferguson. When a house is built on-site, sometimes it rains and the materials can be damaged.

Xontah also has projects in the state of Nevada. “We’re still very competitive,” said Ferguson, even with the cost of delivery.